Tim
Gray paid attention when the Vatican held a synod on Scripture in the life and
mission of the Church last October.

Now
he’s helping to spread the wisdom that came out of it. Gray,
president of the Augustine Institute in Denver, was an organizer and speaker at
the 2009 National Catholic Bible Conference, which took place in late June. Its
theme mirrored that of the synod.

Gray,
who holds a doctorate in biblical studies from The Catholic University of
America, spoke about the conference and the renewed interest in Bible studies
that is sweeping across the Church.

You
received an invitation to work for Archbishop Charles Chaput. How did that come
about?

I
went and did my master’s at Franciscan University in Steubenville [Ohio], and
when I was finishing my studies, I got a call from a bishop in Rapid City, S.D.
He wanted me to help him with a new high school he was launching.

I
told him that I wanted to get my doctorate in biblical studies; and he said,
“You can do that — but just come and work for a few years out here.” His name
was Bishop Chaput, now the archbishop of Denver.

Tell me
about the Denver Catholic Biblical School.

Denver
has been a special place for biblical studies because 27 years ago Denver
started what is known as the Denver Catholic Biblical School. Vatican II called
for a renewal for Scripture for Catholics, and the Denver Catholic Biblical
School was one of the first places where that response came. It had 600 people
enrolled in the program immediately.

It
is a four-year adult education program that walks people through the Bible.
Adults study the Bible intensely. They read and study all 73 books of the Bible.

When
Archbishop Chaput brought me out to Denver seven years ago, I took over the
school and directed the biblical school for a little over five years.

Why do you
think it has been so successful?

It
took lay education seriously. People had a lot of reading and homework to do.
Bishops around the country have asked me why this is successful.When
they hear that we charge $500 for tuition, they tell me that in their dioceses
they do not charge anything and still cannot fill up their classes. I tell them
you get what you pay for.

The
program has its own curriculum. It has a staff of five full-time people who go
to parishes around the dioceses. In fact not only the Archdiocese of Denver,
but also the Diocese of Colorado Springs [Colo.]. It gives good, quality
instruction, so people want to pay for it and engage in it.

What is
the connection between the Denver Catholic Biblical School and the Augustine
Institute — the school you head?

The
biblical school helped us to start the Augustine Institute. I knew that there
was a need for the Augustine Institute, because there was no graduate school
that had a focus on evangelization and Scripture. Archbishop Chaput was a big encouragement
to start it. And so, inspired by Pope John Paul II, we started up in 2005.

The theme
of the Bible conference was “Scripture in the Life and Mission of the Church.”
It is the same theme of the Scripture synod held in Rome last fall. A
deliberate connection, I suspect.

The
synod of bishops, which happened last October, focused on Scripture and the
life and mission of the Church.

Scripture
and the Gospel are at the center of any evangelization. And we believe that a
renewal of Scripture and a renewal of evangelization have to go hand in hand.

There
can be no proclamation of the Gospel without Scripture, and there can be no
evangelization without Scripture being at the forefront, and that is what the
Church has basically said in Vatican II and in the synod on Scripture.

You give a
number of talks and conferences across the United States each year. What are
you seeing when it comes to Catholics and their study of the Bible?

Bible
studies are exploding all over the Catholic world. I was just in Tulsa, Okla.,
doing a Great Adventure [Bible] Time Line, and we had 250 people present. I
asked them, “How many, 10 years ago, were in a Catholic Bible study or even
knew that there was a Catholic Bible study?” No one raised their hands. And
then I said, “How many of you now have heard of Catholic Bible studies and have
them at your parish?” Almost everyone raised their hand.

There
is a dramatic shift that is going on. In the ’70s and ’80s, the Church was
hemorrhaging because good people were going to Protestant churches because of
Bible studies. Now what we are seeing is Catholic Bible studies are blooming
all over the place. And we are seeing Protestants who are converting. They are
going to Catholic Bible studies. It’s the turning of the tide.

What were
you hoping would come out of the National Catholic Bible Conference?

We
brought together some of the best Bible study teachers in the country to
Denver. We were trying to bring them all together to train and produce
Catholics who can teach Scripture and advance biblical studies all over the
country.

This
conference uniquely married mind and heart and drew it to the word of God,
which is exactly what the synod just called for in the life of the Church.